The Castle of Arraiolos Webcam

You’ll need a vivid imagination to make the static scene you can see on this live feed interesting enough to view for more than ten seconds. The conglomeration of pristinely tiled rooftops overshadowed by the Castle of Arraiolos may inspire you to put pen to paper if you’re a writer of historic or romantic fiction set in medieval times, but then again it may not.

This Portuguese fortress built in the early 14th century is about as textbook-looking as they come. If your artistic talents are limited, don’t worry. A five year old wouldn’t have too much trouble making a decent drawing replicating this castle’s battlements so, even if you’re not a skilled painter, get your brushes out and go for it.

The Castle of Arraiolos is located on a hillside above the town of Arraiolos in central Portugal. That’s somewhere you may not feel overly inclined to drag yourself away from the beaches of Albufeira for, if you were holidaying there, and drive two-hundred and fifty kilometres inland to explore this semi-ruined monument. But it does have, as most 14th century castles do, a history that’s worth delving into. Unfortunately, it’s not been a castle that has inspired architectural admiration or even provided that much sought after sanctuary during turbulent times. It still stands though, almost eight centuries later, on the top of the hill dominating the views of the town and serving as a reminder of where the local folks stole the stone from to build their houses.